Shinobi Legends Society
by Jack Newsoia
Summary: A group of shinobi head out to change the shinobi world; many of the characters and places are connected to a game called Shinobi Legends, an RPG based on Seth Abel's Legend of the Green Dragon, the RP aspect being related to that of Naruto.
1. Gathering! Shinobi Legends Society!

Shinobilegends Society

_Disclaimer: I do not own Shinobilegends, and many of the characters represented are loosely based on their game RP counterparts. I in no way own the Naruto franchise either, and this is done for non-profit, entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised._

The story begins not in the present, nor the future, but the past, at a time before now. Perhaps I should explain before confusing you any further. This current present is ruled by a powerful overlord who cannot be stopped; many simply refer to him as 'Master of all things in time'.

I personally don't entirely believe that such a thing is completely true, but the man and his woman companion are in charge. There are no Kage, no Daimyo that are not subject to their whims.

Granted, hardly any is seen of the man, his woman companion, who goes by the title "Grand Mistress", seems to do much of the work. Only when their empire is threatened by a large revolution is the man seen in full glory, in which case, all time seems to stop, and all resistance becomes non-existent.

As a result, rebellion on such a scale is considered futile, as the few who have existed to remember these altered events keep it hushed and their identity a secret, and with good reason. All that man needs is a name, a sample of blood, or even a simple look at the face and said person's fate may be sealed without the slightest inclination.

However, many still remember a time before this was true; a time when such abilities were completely folly compared to the power of the sharingan, or its ultimate form, the rinnegan.

In fact, there were so many who could claim Uchiha descent, many began to wonder if incest had already begun in the realm simply from the incredibly numbers of Uchiha, or if everyone else was there simply to prevent incest. There was a time even before then that the explosion of Uchiha wasn't even seen as a possibility.

We are not going that far back, however, simply due to convenience. We shall start at an odd time, a transitional period, where a society of shinobi came together in an ambition to change their world; nowadays, it merely goes by the name of Shinobi Legends Society, SLS for short.

Many despise the name, and all the connotations that come along with it, and perhaps, once you learn more of this tale, you too may understand why many speak the name with such venom and vice.

Popular belief starts the formation of this society with the fourth Hokage and his so-called predecessor. Popular belief may have spawned as a result of some skilled propaganda artists, but the truth is not as simple as that at all.

In fact, popular belief is quite wrong, at least in the context of this organization. Mayaps they founded something similarly named, but this organization was founded by none other than the twelve, whose assembly shall be the first of our focus.

* * *

It is a surprisingly bright room for the dark deed ahead; a large, circular room with a circular table in the center. Completing this 'circle' were the circular windows, which allowed in the light of the day and a fresh, chilly breeze.

Below, the inhabitants of this town continue blissfully unaware of those who gather. Shinobi, merchants, and all manner of things congregated below, the music of peace and commerce, along with the disruption of the occasional crime and the misfits' pranks.

In dark clothing, with arms folded and crossed, a bright, red eyed man stares at the places below with a smile. His skin was rather pale; almost pitifully so, and his black blazer clashed with his skin almost as much as the dark red hair, which almost shone bright red in the sunlight.

What a morning indeed, as the man stared from the window, listening as the doors behind him opened and shut with timed coordination.

His black gloves touched the window pane lightly, a twitch here and there as shuffling at the round table commenced. He blinks, and his eyes focus in on a particular figure down in the busy streets of Ninja Central.

A barking dog held tightly on a leash by random traveler. It seemed strange that this would fixate his attention, but the man uttered a joyful sigh, as he commented to himself, "Ah Kyutu, what a sight to behold. If only home could look more like this."

Suddenly the door slammed shut, and Kyutu's attention immediately turned from the window to the last entrant. As the last to arrive, this entrant took the second to last empty seat. Kyutu smiled, and then walked towards the 'front' of the room; truly it was hard to tell since the room's dimensions were so perfectly even.

The architects truly were brilliant in their design, and as Kyutu stood at the last empty chair, the chairs themselves high in the back, yet covered in relative plush, one could hear what sounded like contraptions at work.

Despite there being adequate lighting for seeing, the entryways and the table were hardly illuminated, making it very difficult if not impossible to tell who was in attendance, even if one sat right next to another. The man took his seat, crossed his legs, and then looked at the congregation.

To equate this table as a clock would be the simplest way to proceed; if Kyutu sat at twelve o'clock, then each person's relative position could be marked to the positions relative to a clock. Therefore, Kyutu would be considered twelve, and so on and so forth.

The lights outside suddenly dimmed by what seemed to be ominously placed curtains, and the figures became even harder to distinguish, with only a single light only on Kyutu himself. The twelve had finally gathered, and Kyutu seemed pleased that every single one of them had shown up, more or less on time.

"Thank you for your attendance here today," Kyutu announced with a loud boom, apparently awakening some of the attendees with his volume, "I would ask for introductions, but there is a reason that the lights have gone out you see." "So it is that kind of party huh? Six joked, "I'm sorry, I came with all my clothes. Forgot the party favors."

"Party?" Four jested, "I know not who you are, but you wouldn't know the good definition of a party if it struck you in the head!" "Ladies, ladies," Five joked with a certain savvy choice of words, "Not only are you both smart, you are both invited to this party."

"This is not a party!" One shouted, "We came here for a serious meeting, not some dirty jokes!" "Speak for yourself," Six sounded again, "I read on my invitation that there would be free drinks all around!"

"Gentlemen, ladies, whichever you are, and whichever you think you are," Two roughly declared, "We are all here for different or similar reasons, but we are certainly not here to mock each other."

"Didn't you just…" quietly started Seven before silencing again. "Other than those who spoke, are there a few introductory words any of you would like to voice before we begin?" Kyutu asked, offering his hands outwards to the so far silent attendees. At first no one else spoke up, but eventually Nine found something to comment on.

"Silence is the most deadly sound, but you lot are probably the most lethal killjoys in the whole shinobi realm!" Nine commented, "I was actually enjoying the light humor." "Yeah well, there is nothing light about seizing control of the world," Ten gruffly pointed out, "Or at least that is what I think we are here for."

Eleven chirped, "But if we don't joke around before we start, then we will all be quiet like we were before, and since the red haired guy turned off the sounds of the outside world, we'd all die of curiosity." "Speaking of that, when do we get to see each other?" Three asked, "I am most curious to see who I am paired up with."

"You sound like the Sage type," Six jeered, "Shouldn't you be able to feel all with those extra sensor hairs of yours?" "That was uncalled for!" One shouted out, "Do you have something against sages?" "None," Six replied back, "Do you have something against jokes?" "No, just yours," Four joked in response.

This oddly enough inspired some laughter in the crowd; all save for Kyutu that is. He did not seem at all amused.

He cleared his throat as the laughter died down, then pointed out, "I brought you all here to cooperate, not prepare to kill each other. When I turn on the lights and you see each other, I most hope you restrain yourselves."

"Aren't we all from the same village?" Two inquired, "I thought this was a one village thing?" "Idiot, you can't take over the world with just one village!" Eight harshly reproached with a hiss, "This is clearly an international meeting. And the lot of us could have just tried to kill each other in the last war for all we know."

It was a most curious thing, as silence pervaded upon Eight finally speaking. A strange calm had attended the room, and Kyutu rose, the spotlight following his face as he rose.

"We are all here to bring about a new union, in which all nations can cooperate with each other in a greater sense of order and peace. This shinobi world has just been ravaged by a great war; it matters not who technically won, as all sides were negatively impacted by the conflict.

In order to form a more perfect union, we establish a new organization that will benefit the entire realm! Before I continue, I must ask if there are any objections to this objective."

"Well, yes, actually," Three piped shortly after Kyutu finished, "In what manner will we achieve this goal?" "Through international peace, he or she just said it," Two answered, "Err, which are you?" "Obviously a man," Ten stated, "When we saw the upper torso it should have been obvious."

"What if she's flat chested?" Six suggested, "The deep voice could just be a puberty thing too."

"The only thing deep around here is the well of ignorance you draw from," Four huffed, apparently offended, "The man mentioned clearly that the guy with the red hair was going to be the host of this event. And flat or not, you should be able to tell a woman from a man by now."

"Your unknown reputation precedes you," Six mocked with a hint of malice, "I can't wait to get a good look at you so I can split you in half." "Oh great, what will the children think when they hear that story?" Five joked, "Seriously, you two might as well go ahead and hook up, regardless of your sexes."

"This round table reminds me of the Icha Icha series back home," Kyutu reluctantly jested to redirect the attention, "It's all fun and games till someone actually pulls down their pants."

Oddly enough this incited some chuckles and one resounding laugh that clearly came from Eleven's direction.

"Anyways," Kyutu continued, "The world is in disarray. I had hoped that with your support, we could not only gather the tailed beasts into a fair assembly, but also create a neutral country in which all people can come and unite under a single banner.

More importantly, an empire ruled by an aristocracy guided by those who remain by the end of the cause."

"Revolution achieved through what means?" Three patiently asked, "You have still yet to tell us how you think this should be achieved. Bloodshed or the bedroom?"

"Okay, I think we have all had enough of the dirty jokes," Eight declared.

"No, seriously," Three insisted, "Do you know how many agreements were made behind closed doors without blood being shed?" "Yeah, the kind that don't last very long," Six interjected, "You always have to have a few drops of blood in order to make lasting agreements. After all, death is a good way to reinforce a point."

"If you are a sadistic, inhumane scoundrel!" Four accused, "What kind of world do you live in where there is nothing but killing on the mind?"

"I dunno, maybe someplace like the naruverse," Six shot back, "No matter what ideals are being pressed, and somebody has to die in order for it to come to fruition."

"The point I want to make is," Kyutu called out with a hint of frustration, once again redirecting the attention back to him, "The decision is entirely up to you on how you want to execute your objectives.

This loose alliance is intended to organize cooperative efforts, so both the mass murderers and the pen writers may help each other in their respective causes."

"Sounds like a plan," Seven quietly agreed, only being heard due to the silence after Kyutu's statement. "You have got to talk up," Six insisted, "We are gonna lose our sense of hearing just trying to hear you talk." "Only fools open their mouths to let the world know how foolish they are," Two pointed out.

"Ah, but a fool doesn't know they are a fool if they don't invite others to prove it," Eleven countered, "After all, if you yourself held all the answers, then you would be dead from the sheer amount of knowledge."

"I can agree on that," Four said, "If you do not allow your voice to be heard, you may be stomped out by the louder crowd." "What if he/she has a naturally down volume voice?" Eight said, "Please red haired man; continue before this devolves into a social gathering."

"Thank you," Kyutu said, letting out a sigh as he prepared to continue. However, a knock on the door interrupted him, and he called out, "Who is it?"

"The Black Dragon ANBU," a feminine voice responded back, "Officials of Ninja Central have issued a declaration that this region is to be used for peaceful activities only." "Your point?" Kyutu shot back, "We are merely talking in here."

"Make sure that is all that it stays!" the ANBU shoots back through the door, "One more chakra flare and we will have to come in there."

"Duly noted," Kyutu replied back. The sound of footsteps accompanied Kyutu looking around the darkened room.

"Who flared their chakra?" Three inquired, "I did not realize we were about to come to blows."

"I don't think we have enough women in here for that," Six joked, earning the irritation of a surprising number of the assembled members.

"I thought I had said enough of the dirty jokes!" Eight once again growled, slamming something hard onto the table, "This is removing the seriousness of this entire meeting!"

"And how do you know who's a woman and who isn't?" Eleven shot afterwards, "Or do you treat them all the same eh?" "How do you know a few guys wouldn't mind a blow from some other guys?" One interrogatively cried out, "For all you know, you could be the only dick around here other than the red haired one!"

Kyutu face palmed as the previously civil conversation began to divulge into what felt like shouting chaos, though not all members participated equally. Despite this, Kyutu felt that it was about time to wrap things up, and with a screech, brought order back to the table.

"It is clear that you lot are not ready to see each other," Kyutu concluded, "However, at our next major meeting, you will indeed see each other. Your ability to sense each other's chakra had been suppressed upon entering the room, as I had requested from the local ANBU.

Now, your first task is to gather the biju; I assume you can take some pages from the Akatsuki on how to go about that. By the time of our next meeting, there should be no free roaming biju, understood?"

The group was silent, but it appeared that they all agreed to take on the task. "So, new rule," Kyutu finished as he turned away from the assembled, "No free roaming biju. All tailed beasts must be kept either within a host or a village.

The beasts shall have no such thing as freedom for as long as we remain assembled. Now go forth, and be tactful in how you attend your duties."

And so most of the figures suddenly warped away, remaining ambiguous to each other as to who the others were. It could be assumed that they had sworn to utmost secrecy beforehand, but, as usual, it can also be assumed that not everyone would keep their vow of silence.

And Kyutu, somewhat concerned about this, walked back over to the windows as they were uncovered, and looked back down at the crowd.

"So much to be done… And I have yet to begin in my home country," Kyutu murmured, "But where to start…" In a few moments, he would walk towards the door, apparently having an idea, and would walk out. Thus concluding the first meeting of the Twelve; and sealing the fate of the nine legendary beasts of great power.

* * *

_This is just the first chapter, but we'll see _

_how it goes. The audience should already be _

_able to pick out some of the personalities _

_I have drawn some of the characters from, but _

_even if you are not a SL member, I'm sure you can_

_still at least get the clashing light-dark humor and _

_conspiracy that went on here. This is, again, just _

_a taste, and to build some interest for the rest. _


	2. Welcome to the Shinobi Land pt I

_Several new story lines are introduced in this chapter, most of which include figures that have been inspired by real characters. However, for those of you in the loop, it will not necessarily coincide with events in the actual RPed out events in places; that's why this is a fanfiction and not a chronicle. :D Other than that notice, I hope you enjoy this chapter. _

_I do not own Naruto nor Shinobilegends, all copyrights and such belong to their original creator(s). _

**Chapter 2**

The meeting itself was rather peaceful compared to what was going on in the world abroad; around this time, the last vestiges of clan wars clung on as they waged combat across the various zones.

Even in this time period many battles were one on one, but there were some with duos and trios here and there, depending on the level of organization from both sides.

Despite the obvious advantages to it, many fights conducted tended to adhere, more or less, to a one to one ratio, with three to one being considered the maximum, even in the direst of circumstances.

Nevertheless, there were still those who claimed to take on entire armies of shinobi at a single time, despite the impractical notion of fighting dozens of foes at a time in the zones.

A flash of yellow, then a green streak followed shortly behind. Pair of bright blue eyes, accompanied by the green flak jacket standard to all jounin, with a blue jumpsuit as the main outfit was what one could make out as the shinobi travelled through the trees of Konoha Forest.

Bandages were on the thighs and lower legs, and the flash of a forehead protector couldn't be seen until the figure stopped, almost cold in his tracks atop a tree branch.

The man looked left, and then looked right, and immediately knew that something was off. His forehead protector had the leaf symbol on it; with it shining so brilliantly, one would wonder what sort of stealth was meant to be invoked with that nuisance polished so well.

There was a method to the madness, as the man seemed to flash it in a general direction. No light returned the attempt at communication, and immediately the man suspected the worst.

"This is not good," he spoke in a low tone, crouching down, "Where are they?" A whistling noise later, and the man instantly leaped from the branch, just moments before a hail of shuriken planted themselves all along the tree.

On the other side, the Yellow Flash, nicknamed simply "Flash" for short, reached into his tools pouch. Pulling out a custom kunai with three blades, two of which extended out from the 'main' blade like gently curved claws, the man swiftly wrapped a strange tag around the handle.

It was now marked for the Flying Thunder God technique, and while normally his custom kunai were marked beforehand, the man had been caught seriously off guard when a group of shinobi had ambushed him.

His many rites were destroyed in the resulting explosion, and other than a few that he had directly on his person, many of his other ninja tools were destroyed.

Of course, this didn't hinder him significantly, but it did mean that he needed to re-adjust the blank kunai that he had on his person.

Fleeing from his pursuers temporarily, the man knew he was outnumbered. However, he didn't feel outmatched, and understandably so, as it seemed to him that these shinobi knew not what they faced.

As his enemies were clothed in black, high collared cloaks and painfully generic undergarments, it was hard to tell what nation or clan they came from.

All he knew was, they were hot on his trail, and whether he liked it or not, they had an odd tendency to predict his movements, even with his space-time ninjutsu. As a result, he needed to somehow capture one in order to ascertain their status.

The breezy morning was coming to a close as high noon brought calm winds and even greater weather. Being in Fire Country was difficult enough, with other player shinobi being killed on a regular basis in these very woods, by less organized forces.

His pursuers, clothed as they were, were not that hard to distinguish in the ample lighting and green background, but the shades provided a threatening menace that the Flash could not utilize; if they were Nara, it was suicide to attempt to engage them in most forms of close combat, especially since they were in the group.

His tactic had been to flee, but he could tell that he was slowly being circled into a trap; it would not do for him to become trapped.

So the man threw the kunai at one of the figures; though the shinobi quickly dodged it, the marked kunai landed squarely into the tree, prompting a quick movement of the Flash.

He quickly leapt from the tree he had been at as well, as it seemingly self-combusted in flames, as fire seemed to rain from the sky for just a brief moment.

"Dragons too?!" Flash complained out loud, "Damn Blaze, I hope these aren't your minions coming after me." Though he spoke to no one in particular, it was fair to say that his shouts were a form of peering out.

Perhaps his quarries would respond. After all, there were plenty of chatty fights whenever he saw them advertised.

No such luck as he landed onto the dirt ground, feeling vibrations upon the ground. In a flurry, the man reached into his tools pouch, withdrew five more specially made kunai, and hurled them in a single direction.

In a fluid motion, he also leapt from the space, which quickly shifted downwards as the earth vainly attempted to swallow the man whole.

Leaping upwards and grasping a tree, the satisfying thud of the decoy kunai alerted Flash that he needed to keep moving. They were beginning to use ninjutsu against him, and that usually mean that they were trying to force him into an engagement.

Marking the tree with a single palm strike, the man leapt up yet again, only to be directly confronted by one of the mask, cloaked pursuers.

"Yellow Flash, your time has come!" the voice shouted from behind the plain black mask. The enemy was in mid-air, but directly in front of Flash with a katana in hand, aiming it in a diagonal slash. This seemed straightforward, but looks could be deceiving, and there was not enough time for Flash to make either hand seals or any extra maneuvers.

Even so, Flash quickly exerted his chakra, and in a rapid teleportation act, reappeared at the first kunai that he had hurled earlier. Awaiting him was a single opened palm thrust to the stomach, one of which sent chakra throughout his system.

"Gentle Fist!" this new attacker announced upon execution, knocking Flash off of the tree and into a nearby trunk. Caught off guard by someone with such timing, Flash doubled over, his movements very swiftly diminishing as he fell after the hard impact with the tree.

He hit the forest floor with a thud, as the attacker, bearing the same visual garb as the other, cackled, then reported, "The One True Hokage would like to see you… I'm sure you will be pleased by her efforts."

Her? Flash blacked out before he could process this information any further, but it was at least a relief of sorts to him. As the man blacked out, he was surrounded by the remainder of his pursuers, all wearing the same garb.

The attacker that had successfully struck Flash announced, "The Yellow Flash has been temporarily subdued. Our next target is hunting monsters in Water Country."

"Oh come on!" one of the assembled shouted, stepping forward, "We don't have near enough travels for that! We need to wait till tomorrow!" "Can it!" the original speaker growled with a viscous tone.

"Had you not let The Wanderer escape on that damn camel of hers we wouldn't have to travel all the way to Water Country!" "Why not just go after her again?" someone suggested, "The Flash seemed easy enough to take down." "Fools," another stated, "can't you obviously see that the captain has some logic going on here?

Blaze would have our heads, literally, if he knew that we were going after the Wanderer. Besides, she might be expecting us, and surprise is the only reason we caught this man without a serious struggle."

"Surprise or not, we are moving out to Water Country after we drop this man off," the captain reiterated, "Our next target needs to be neutralized before Lady Hokage can proceed."

"But what about Blaze?" yet another spoke up, "Not everything is settled yet." "Forget him for now," the captain stated, "We will deal with him and his forces when the time comes. In the meantime, we must complete our mission, with or without his approval! Now move out!"

While Flash was being apprehended, a few bushes away from the commotion was a silent observer. A pair of crimson eyes analyzed the group, and concluded that at least half of them were Hyugans.

"I must alert Blaze to this development," the man murmured, his white streaked hair all that was visible as he seemed to vanish in a blurry upset of the leaves. The captain turned his head towards the area of the departed, but made no motion to intercept.

Far across the land, a desperate struggle seemed to be ensued in the watery bog of Water Country. The mushy ground seemed to be the perfect playground as a large group of Mist shinobi seemed to surround a single area of combat.

Bones littered the area in droves, but with quite the contrast, as water releases splashed across the area in waves. In the center of this madness, were two shinobi and a large, western wind dragon.

Surrounded, a torn through jumpsuit was all the garments of the tall figure, his spiky black hair saturated with water to the extent of drooping, while the face of the man was littered with moss.

The large dragon was green in color, and as such stood out like a sore thumb in this environment. Though the outer armor had seemingly attracted the attention of various embedded kunai, no blood seemed to have been drawn.

The long, serpentine neck swiftly moved from direction to direction, as if the dragon were attempting to ward off the surrounding shinobi. The large wings opened up a large span that could easily wrap around the dragon's surface area several times.

Nonetheless, it seemed to be protecting the man and the young woman below, who were both shivering.

Eric Nara had always led a somewhat rebellious life, but entering Water Country under these circumstances had been bold, even for him. His evil nature had caused the local forces to descend on him occasionally; while normally he fought them off, this time, he had been worn down by their sheer frequency in coming.

Needless to say, the man was exhausted, as could be told of his heavy panting, and his companion didn't seem all that well pleased either. Flexing her claws, the woman seemed almost like a mix of a feral fox and a human, though her aggressive nature seemed toned down in the face of exhaustion.

Simply giving the name "Vixen", the fox woman had stumbled upon the shinobi and his dragon companion fighting a desperately one sided battle. While she had, out of courtesy, come to the aide of her old sparring partner, she soon found out why the man was having so much difficulty.

These were not just regular marsh 'ANBU'; they were the real deal, completely equipped with body armor and real animal masks.

Their current leader seemed none too pleased about the trespassers, especially when they aggressively attacked them with the perception that they were the standard run overs.

"We will ask you one more time to surrender yourself before we finish you," the Captain declared, "Or better yet, take you into custody for questioning."

Eric evaluated his situation, and quickly declared to the dragon, "Rita, you better go. I don't want to risk them getting their hands on you." The dragon replied in utter defiance, "I am not leaving you here by yourself."

"He won't be here by himself," Vixen reassured, "I am staying here with him." "That's reassuring," Rita sarcastically stated while she looked over the two. "The two of you could hardly even screw each other much less continue this fight."

"Well, it hadn't exactly been fair that there was no warning that these were not just random monster ANBU," Eric complained, "However, they don't seem to be considering that little misunderstanding."

"Captain!" an ANBU shouted as he arrived on the scene, "We have a situation!" "Well, speak!" the captain barked, apparently irritated in the interruption, "This had better be good!"

"The Jashinist Cult Complex in the village has been found completely abandoned!" the ANBU quickly sputtered, "And someone from that cult is currently fighting a group of Fire Country intruders. Should we intervene?"

"Is he or she one of ours?" the captain asked rather plainly, apparently both intrigued and calmed by this news. "A native we can say in the least," the ANBU confidently stated, "We are also sure that one of the Hokage has sent their forces here yet again, probably snooping around."

"I suppose that takes priority, though I'm surprised any of those Leaf have taken a break from fighting each other," the captain mused, then looked towards the previously encircled group.

"You are free to go, this time," the captain warned, pointing a finger towards Eric in particular, "The next time I see you, you had better recognize what you're dealing with!" "He won't forget anytime soon," Rita replied earnestly, "Or if he does, I will remember."

And with that, the ANBU quickly dispersed, to attend to some other matter at hand.

Eric collapsed to his knees onto the marsh with a great sigh of relief. "I can't believe it, what a stroke of luck!" Eric cried out in joy, "Had they used one more sinister mist technique on us…"

"It is called Mist Rain, and it is not a technique you should have taken so likely," Vixen scolded as she leaned on Rita's left foreleg, "Why would you attempt to use wind release under such conditions?"

"Call it a learning experience," the man joked, before looking Vixen up and down, "So, I hate to ask considering you just saved my life, but where are the rest of…"

"Don't finish that question," Vixen quickly stated, cutting Eric off, "These shorts and chainmail mesh shirt do me just fine, even under these conditions. Anyways, I suggest you head off before those ANBU come back."

"I second that," Rita chimed in, "They may be letting us off for now, but we had better not tempt them again into attacking us. Thanks again, Vixen was it?" "Yes, you may call me Vixen," Vixen replied to the dragon, "And no problem."

"Are you sure you won't come with us?" Eric asked, "I am sure Nala would have been thrilled to have another female human in the group." Vixen cackled, and then narrowed her eyes as she joked,

"The two of us here are as far from human as legally possible in Water Country before being declared otherwise. I think we had best stick our separate ways; I have a family now."  
"Oh," Eric said, visibly slumped, "Is that so?" "Yes… Are you disappointed?" Vixen teased with a playful punch to Eric's shoulder. "No!" Eric quickly shouted in his defense, his face turning red as he hurriedly moved to use his chakra to climb Rita.

Vixen chuckled some more, flicked her tail, and then gained some distance from Rita as she began flapping her powerful wings.

Soon enough, Rita began lifting off of the ground (after a powerful jump) and commented, "Perhaps we will meet again, and you will have more time to tell me more about your history with Eric."

Waving, Vixen shouted, "Likewise, the man seems to have a thing for powerful animals." The two females laughed, much to the embarrassment to Eric, who reservedly remained on Rita's shoulder, using his chakra to maintain balance.

"Farewell Vixen!" Eric shouted as they departed. Vixen waved back, and soon enough, the group completely went their separate ways, presumably to clear the area before the ANBU could rethink their previous gratitude.

_Don't worry; I will not leave you in the dark. A little more information will be provided regarding some of these 'other' folks that were mentioned, but prior to that, I would like to note that most of the names were intentionally changed. Reception determines pace of another chapter coming out._


	3. Welcome tot he Shinobi Land pt II

Chapter 2

In the deserts of Wind Country, a ninja village seemed to be in the midst of celebration. The buildings were made of sand, the roads were about as paved as the constant stream of fresh sand allowed, the walls were natural rock formations that formed the outer ridges of an oasis of sorts.

Sunagakure, appropriately named, is hidden amongst the vast desert of Wind Country. Not surprisingly, the village's inhabitants were more than familiar with the temperature changes that occurred. In the daytime, the searing heat completely ravished the unaccustomed, but the nightly freeze chilled even some natives into their homes.

Despite this, the evening air was filled not with the howling wind, but the sounds of a festival. Balloons and various streamers were strung up all over the place in a decorative fashion. Shinobi and citizens of various nations, denominations, and professions dotted the streets, much of the activity centered on a large fountain and a bazaar of sorts.

Another stroke of irony is that there was hardly a camel in sight, despite this being a popular form of transport into and out of the village. Many had walked here, and had been guided along the way by the village's native ninja. Others came directly here, knowing the way very well.

Anyways, with all of the festivities, a salty balloon fight stung the wounds of overly excited children while the adults chatted amongst the shops. Academy students frolicked as they passed from one point to another, playing ninja and using dulled ninja tools as their practice. The streets were filled to the brim, so tourists were bound to get a few metal handles to the side of the head here and there. The Jounin, in typical fashion, were out making sure that relative order was maintained, as well as having a little fun themselves.

However, not all was well in this land. Somewhere far in the desert, a widespread search was on the move by the ANBU of the village. The Wanderer had yet to return from her trip to Fire Country, and being waylaid on the way between countires was not an unknown concept. However, the ANBU would have expected her to have returned by now; after all, she was supposed to be the main hostess of the event after all.

It all seemed very strange. However, the strangeness swiftly turned into panic as the ANBU gathered within the cleft walls of the village. Their voices conveyed their feelings in ways that the public couldn't be aware of yet. "She has yet to return, and there has been no sign of her ever since that ambush…" one could be heard saying, "No corpse has been found either."

"No corpse is going to be found either!" a man shouted as his voice entered the dialogue, "At all costs, the Nidaime Kazkeage must be found!"

* * *

Meanwhile, out in the desert, at an abandoned site that once occupied human life, a single camel rested near a pool of water. Robes drooping with a few drops of blood, the flashing gold clothing blending with the tan brown surroundings as a woman rubbed the camel's humps in a soothing, rhythmic way. Her flowing brown hair was in a mess, covering up the majority of her face.

However, she didn't seem injured or even all that concerned. In fact, one could argue that she was vaguely quite calm, despite the panic that was going on at her disappearance. As she stroked her pet camel, Kayenta looked at the pool of water with an odd solace as she thought about the earlier attack on her person.

* * *

Kayenta had just been riding her camel, Snark, through the desert. With a hooded cloak over her robes and the Kazekage hat on her head, it was safe to say that she was not trying to be too hard to recognize were one to get close enough. Of course, the ANBU escorts were dressed in full hooded cloaks as well, with turbans that oddly enough matched the masks they wore to conceal their appearance.

With four escorts, Kayenta hadn't reasoned that anyone other than a sandworm would have the nerve to approach her alone. While she suppressed her prophetic dreaming ability, she had an uncanny knack for being correct on things of this nature, and when the ambush came, it came not from friendly sand ANBU (whom she could coerce into submission upon proving that it was indeed her) but from hostile forces.

Presuming they were from Fire Country by their techniques, the ANBU had clumsily charged her group. It didn't seem very menacing at first; though there were an annoying amount of Hyugans, the terrain advantage granted her warriors a profound advantage.

Once the nin were spotted, the ANBU immediately took up positions around the startled camel. Kayenta calmed him down as the ANBU respectively armed themselves; one with a large fan, another with two puppets, another with a rapid kunai launcher, and the fourth merely with a katana.

The opposing ANBU were six in number, but despite this, they did not take any chances, and focused on taking out the ANBU first. The two ANBU at the front, the puppet holder and the fan wielder, worked in conjuction with each other to take on the threats.

With a single sweep of the fan, the sands swirled around the defending group like an omnious cloud, and eventually spread out in a powerful sandstorm. "Powerful breakthrough…" one of the attackers taunted, "You are going to have to do better than that!" Instantly, the puppet, styled in the form of a sandworm went into action, lashing out at the bold ANBU with razor sharp teeth dripping with poison.

Another of the attacking ANBU, who was a little more cautious in taunting their foes, lashed out with a single palm strike towards the puppet. Though the attack did not physically connect, a wave of chakra emitted from the palm that struck the puppet off of its intended course. However, the puppet burst into a cloud of poison, which, in the mini-sandstorm, would prove hindrous to the attackers unless they ridded themselves of it.

The third attacker performed a set of handsigns, and then the exhaling of a stream of fire into the sandstorm, ignited the storm as it attempted to capitalize on the Futon origins of the storm. This, apparently was also an attempt to try to separate the defenders, as taking them on all at once was becoming more inconvenient.

The fourth and fifth attackers found themselves dealing with a separate threat in another section of the battle, near the rear end of the small group. The rapid fire kunai launcher was pesky, as it fired kunai at nearly four kunai every four seconds, but the two ANBU were rapidly dodging the kunai with relative ease.

What made their job difficult was the kunai launching in combination with the sword user; clearly skilled in kenjutsu, the fourth defender had infused the sword with Futon, and was hacking and slashing away. Sending waves of cutting air with every strike, the fourth attack narrowly avoided being skewered before beginning a set of handsigns.

By this point, the sandstorm had become a fire storm, and an explosion soon enough ended both the fiery storm and temporarily the combat. Scattered across a thirty yard radius, the combatants had varying statuses.

The sixth attacker, the camel, and its rider were not to be found here, however. In the epicenter, an earthen shower of spires was met with a strike of lightning, specifically Lightning Release. The spires seemed to fire from the ground, while the Lightning Release was emitted from the sky by attacker number six. Kayenta herself had originally performed the spires; upon quickly dodging the surge of lightning release, she hurled various shuriken at her airborne attacker.

Deflecting the kunai with a surge of electricity, the attacker landed on the ground, and immediately began sprinting towards the Kazekage in shunshin. At this point, a few of the remaining attackers, some of whom were interrupted by the strange explosion, suddenly vanished beneath the sand with a single scream. The defenders began to come to their senses as well, and felt the ground shaking quite violently.

"Shit!" the fan wielding defender cried out as it staggered to its feet, "Sandworm attack!" "Not now of all times!" the katana wielder growled, coughing violently. A few drops of blood dripped from the mask, the ninja clearly having been injured by the explosion. The fan wielder turned to help, but the injured ANBU also disappeared beneath the sand.

Knowing that there was literally no time for rivalries, the puppet wielder, using chakra to piece back together the fake sandworm, called out, "We have to move now! That earlier explosion seems to have awakened an entire pack of them!" The defender leaped, just in time to avoid being swallowed whole by a large-than-life worm.

Ferocious, with many rows of jagged teeth lining its mouth, the beast rises from the sand like a large tentacle, violently crying out its anguished call across the desert. It was about as thick as a standard apartment master bedroom (able to fit a queen sized bed, extended lounge chair, and a desk) and began to reach towards the horizon in length.

And that was just a young one. The second to last living attacker, the first who boldly had taunted the ninja in the first place, rapidly rose from his place, just moments before seeing the giant worm looming over his position. "How the hell do you people live out here?!" the original attacker cried out in confusion and shock, biting down on its own thumb, drawing a few drops of blood.

Slamming its palm onto the ground, a large poof of smoke seemed to conceal the ANBU as the worm dove towards it, entering the smoke. At this moment, Kayenta was still fending off the most persistent of the attackers. Performing a set of handsigns, the kunoichi clapped her hands together before spitting out a torrent of mud.

Having already demonstrated the ability to use lightning release, an element superior to the one it was now faced with, the sixth attacker charged electricity into one hand, very quickly creating a glowing concentration. However, before going in for the pertinent blow, a quick glance to the left forces the attacker to make a detour, as the fan wielder swung yet again, this time sending kunai with what appeared to be explosive tags.

The swing was much lighter this time, and formed as more of a carrier than a striker force; the 'explosive' kunai's tags suddenly ignited, but rather than detonating as expected, they lodged into the now flowing mud, igniting it to create a flaming mud sort of jutsu.

Striking through this with nothing but a chidori was not advisable, and with the apparent doom of its comrades, the sixth attacker retreated, releasing the charge and quite literally running away. Before her quarry escaped, however, Kayenta caught a quick glance of red from the eye holes of the mask.

"One threat down, one to go…" the wind user joked as it skidded alongside the Kazekage, "Where is Snark?" "Snark will be fine," Kayenta asserted, "Where is Uruchi?" The only surfaced sandworm suddenly blew to pieces, much to the shock of most of the living. The katana wielder, likely thrown into the air by the explosion, landed into the sand with a thud; the body did not stay there for long as it was dragged beneath the sand.

Standing over the summoner, the desperate, but still alive original attacker, were two shinobi. One was a man with blazing red hair, now stained crimson, and back to back with him was another man with dark hair in a strange blue uniform. This man's hands were turned upwards, as if he had merely touched the beast and it exploded.

"Sandworms… I never cared much for them," the black haired man stated, "You had better have a good reason for summoning Kyutu and me."

"I was told by Blaze to perform the special summoning technique if I were to encounter any worms on my way here," the startled ANBU reported, "I figured now was a better time than ever." "Uh, Dark," Kyutu started as he noticed indentions all over the field, "I don't think we are in the clear yet."

Enraged by the death of one of theirs, sandworms all across the desert plain emerged; some as large as a mere five foot man, while others towered high above the horizon, with a girth to match the height. In their upset nature, they seemed to be focused only on Dark and Kyutu.

"Darkshinobi, do something!" the original attacker cried out, "Kyutu, the two of you have got to have some sort of space-time ninjutsu to use!" "Idiots!" Dark called out, "Everyone here will have to die for hearing that!"

"I think it is time for us to leave," Kayenta noted, her remaining two escorts now back around her. The puppet wielder grimaced beneath its mask as it saw all of the sandworms, and suggested, "Maybe we should help them…?" Kayenta looked over at the newcomers, debating on whether or not to retreat while not on the menu or putting her group back in jeopardy by doing the opposite.

Upon recognizing both newcomers with surprising accuracy, Kayenta ordered, "They can handle themselves, let us go." And with a swirl of the fan, the group had made their get-away in a sandy storm, continuing on their journey.

* * *

Kayenta sighed, then looked towards a large pool. This pool was surrounded by some vegetation, but more importantly, it was where her remaining escorts rested. What were those two doing all the way out here in the first place? At first she had suspected that her kin had been behind the attack, but neither of those two served him, or so she had thought, and considering the intent to kill, it was fair to assume that it was not a mere desert monster that sought her life.

* * *

Standing in a pool of blood, the shadows were bathed in crimson. Licking his lips, a man nudged the still bleeding corpse of his foe, jesting, "Don't worry, there is always a party in the Shades. See you next time."

Hidesami had started this zone fight with the intention on winning, as he did all of his fights. His opponent this time was a cocky missing ninja who didn't feel as if Hide's reputation was worth paying attention to.

Right from the start of the match, Hide had to correct the ninja. Starting with his favorite element, earth release, the zoning legend started with a string of handsigns, before ending with a palm slap to the ground.

Using his chakra, the man rose a large wall of earth, to block an incoming flurry of shuriken. A perfectly good shadow clone shuriken, wasted by the inefficiency in which it was used. Shaking his head, Hide unsheathed a sword from its hilt at his side as, emerging from the side of the earthen wall, his opponent appeared.

Both shinobi wore samurai armor, and both had tool forehead protectors on their heads. One major difference, is that Hide had his hair tied into a bun, while this amateur allowed his hair to flow in bangs, partially concealing his face.

His opponent wielding a sword, Hide quickly rushed to meet his quarry in a bout of kenjutsu. His foe slashed diagonally to attempt to open Hide's chest; Hide counters by bringing his sword upwards to meet this strike. Hide attempts to stab his foe, but the move is diagonally swiped away by his foe.

The two continue to clash with their swords and for quite a while, as neither managed to land a decisive move. Then, quite suddenly, his opponent's twin appears from the earthen wall Hide had earlier created. Realizing that one of them was a clone, and wondering how that suddenly became a factor, Hide rapidly switched to the defensive as he jumped backwards from his quarries.

His foe was not easily deterred, however, and charged forward, intending on using numbers and speed to prevent Hide from countering. Now the first attacker was slashing at the waist while his shadow clone performed a set of handsigns. The intention on catching the man off guard ended when Hide swiftly moved for interception.

Rather than blocking, Hide had seen this as an opportunity. Up to now he had been gauging his foe, and while he had managed to gather that his opponent was both smarter and faster than he first appeared, the physical strength seemed lacking. Hide took advantage of this and countered the sword blow with a slash of his own, using both hands for additional force.

By adding Doton into his sword, Hide made the the blade as hard as diamond; only temporarily as the blades came into contact. This split the opposing katana in half, and Hide spun as his startled opponent dropped the now useless weapon.

Nearly tripping on the battlefield already littered with broken swords, his opponent brought his hands together in preparation for a technique of some sort; Hide did not care much for what it was, and, upon finishing his rapid spin, hurled his own katana, now returned to normal, at his quarry's center body.

Forced to react again, this foe had a narrow window to dodge this katana, and although he might could have even grabbed it, his method of dodging would prove to be his downfall. Rather than shunshing, in an attempt to show off to onlookers, he had instead attempted to 'matrix' the sword, it scraping his armor as it skidded just barely above the bent over backwards shinobi.

Hide had been counting on this, and upon finishing his spin from earlier, also had reached into his tools pouch. In a single fluid motion, he leapt, throwing a kunai at his bent over opponent, and dodging the earthen spikes that suddenly appeared beneath him, seeming spontaneously. Struck in the 'dark place', the opponent poofed away, revealing which was the true ninja.

Having seen his clone dissipated, the opponent performed another set of handsigns; while Hide was in the air, the man exhaled a large ball of fire, intent on scorching Hide and removing all possibility of escape. Too far from the ground to simply land, Hide had to think fast; this was not how he could be defeated, certainly not in this manner! So using his opponent's abandoned earthen spikes, Hide performs a set of handsigns, and extends his chakra to the desolate spires.

Had his foe continued with the attack, he might would have skewered Hide, but instead, he switched to a fire based attack. This would of course, prove to be Hide's own saving as he extends the spires upward, grabbing onto just one of them, seconds before the fireball would make contact.

Being nearly ten whole meters away, his quarry had felt certain that he was out of striking range; he was proven wrong when the ground directly in front of him suddenly vibrated. With only enough time to leap back, the man avoided the swift return of Hide to the surface, having used his signature earth style technique to quickly burrow and travel through earth itself.

As his foe leapt back, his life ended with an impalement of earthen spires; the very same ones that he had attempted to skewer Hide with. Unfortunately, Hide had used them to his fullest advantage, and rather than grabbing at his opponent's feet, he had opted to use the very spires that had helped to save his life.

And thus, his opponent was impaled on earthen spires, Hide landed neatly on the ground, and we return to the scene in which we started, Hide giving his opponent both injury, insult, and some hopeful parting words. Due to the degree of injury, his quarry bled out with surprising speed, though Hide in hindsight had not really checked thoroughly whether his foe was dead or not (not that he needed to, this time).

* * *

Cackling, the man walked away from the corpse; the battlefield had been an old battlefield, and was reminiscent of the shinobi war grounds so commonly fought on in previous eras. A single portal linked this zone to every other part of the land; though many didn't admit it, it was the most convenient way to get around, since these portals led to these free for all killing zones.

Of course, the fighting zones had some rules, but nothing more than keeping the language appropriate. All other tactics were welcomed, and as long as your foe had a chance to defend themselves, it was fair game. 'God-modding' as it had almost comically been tagged, was frowned upon, and sometimes even scorned by one of the many overlords of the realm.

Ironically enough, their interventions were god-mode, but they hardly ever intervened in a fight, even if there was some foul play involved. Nevertheless, death was almost like a game; it was usually not permanent, though the cost of coming back to life seemed to be outweighed by the fun the dead seemed to have in their world. So usually there were no hard feelings for a loss.

It was a strange thing, but nothing that Hidesame would be concerned about. As one of the Stone's most prominent fighters, the man had earned a reputation as a hardcore zoner, and not one to be taken lightly. He had taken on many students in the past, and some of them went on to become excellent fighters.

Others died on a regular basis, but the learning curve had its uses. There could be many losers, but even fewer winners. Not at all taunted by the thought of starting another fight, the exhausted man entered the portal after a brief greeting to the keeper, who merely watched to make sure no one messed with its functioning.

Upon arriving home, the man was greeted with cheers; yet another victory. Laughing heartily, the man waved to his fans as he re-entered Rock Country, the portal landing him straight in the village square. Cheering crowds shouted various words of encouragement, and some pleas for children.

Not at all disturbed by the latter set of cheers, Hide basked in his undefeated title, and strode off towards the residential areas, the crowd following in fan base style. The registry area, as the residential area was more commonly known as, was the safest place to lay one's head at night; out in the fields of the village was the cheapest option, but the price of getting killed in your sleep was too high for ninja with experience.

So, cityhouses and treehouses alike were an option, despite the fact that not every village had much of an abundance of trees. However, the homes were constructed from local materials, and needless to be said, the castle was among the highest of the ranks for the locations. Entering his castle and shooing off his entourage, the man entered his personal quarters for some much needed relaxation time.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, the dwellings were not as safe as one would think, and plundering was rather common. Hide chuckled to himself as he saw an unfortunate burglar with an arrow in the back; setting traps was something only a few knew how to do, but it was imperative for the better defense of the establishment.

"I am home!" he shouted, the castle echoing his call. Dropping a few sacks of gold into his coffers, the man climbed the stairwell in an attempt to find out what was going on, as not a soul greeted him upon entry. Upon getting to the top, he finds a single room door closed. Confused, but certainly not alarmed, the man walked down the seemingly long hallway to the door.

Kicking it open, the man finds an unusual sight. A round table, with playing cards scattered all over it, with poker chips stacked nearly to the ceiling. Five people sat in chairs around the table, some with cigars and cigarettes, others with masks and whiskers. Mischeviously sitting directly across from the door and facing Hide, was a very muscular man with brown hair.

A red headband with long ties seemed to dominate the colors on the man's getup, with most of it being a dusty brown and tanned skin. One still could not quite get over the well defined muscles, soaked in what looked to be sweat as he looked at his table mates from side to side. "Asadi, what are you doing in my castle?" Hide calmly asked, though it could be clearly noted that he was fuming, "This area is off limits, even if you kill everyone in here and raid the coffers." (literally, commentary areas are off limits despite successful entry)

Asadi's response was unexpected, as he shouted in ecstasy as he threw down his cards. "Royal flush beeches!" Asadi cried out, much to the groans of his fellow companions, "Hand 'em over!" The chips literally spilled onto Asadi's side of the room, as the man defiantely responded to Hide, "I'm winning every drop of gold your friends here had stored up here that's what I am doing here!"

Hide put the palm of his hand to his face, and rubbed downwards. Chances are he didn't know who to be more angry with, his servants for gambling with his gold, or Asadi for winning it. "Besides, that's King Asadi to you," Asadi pointed out as he stood up, shaking his opponents' hands, "And I came here to talk to the Tsuchikage. Whether I talk to the Fourth or the Third doesn't really matter, there is just business to attend to."

Hide motioned for his servants to leave the room, glaring at them as they sheepishly left the room. They hastily made their way out as Hide entered, shutting the door. Locking it behind him, he growled, "Start talking King." Asadi usually was a room brightener, but the manner in which he found his few servants had certainly dampened his high spirits.

Sitting back down at the table, Asadi reached down onto the dark, stone floor, bringing a bottle of sake up as he did. Asadi then began, "First of all, you're all out of sake; second of all, it is a complete sausage fest in here, but since I'm married, I can appreciate that, though I have to wonder what you do in your spare time; and third of all…" Asadi stopped, and Hide looked at him impatiently, presuming Asadi was building up dramatic tension.

"You might want to sit down for this one," Asadi gloomily declared, "It has to do with Shinobi Kingdom, and not even the likes of you will be able to stand after hearing these news."


	4. Welcome to the Shinobi Land pt III

Chapter 4

Meanwhile, high in the yet still rocky enclaves of Cloud Country, lightning flashed as clouds rumbled towards a solitary village. At this sort of altitude, one could say that the village had a cloud of its own surrounding it, sheltering it during stormy weather.

However, this weather was certainly no hindrance to the locals. In fact, they tended to prefer the lightning storm over a gentle, breezy, and cloudless day. Such, was Kumogakure, better known as, the Village Hidden in the Cloud.

Father and son sparred in the surrounding mountains, leaping from rock enclave to rock enclave in a strange game of cat and mouse. Or so it would seem. One was garbed in a rather strand attire, resembling quite strongly some yellow and black creature from another world.

The strange garb also had the odd effect of becoming quite bright when the wearer bathed themselves in lightning release. Waves of electricity emitted from this seemingly half-man half , the fur-like attire sounding like a charging bolt of electrical current as the wearer stood atop one of the many cliffs of one of these high peaks.

Directly opposite, was a very different look; with bandages around the hands, one could immediately tell that this was a man, and his blonde hair stood near on end as he flared himself up with electricity. Additionally, a skull bandana was wrapped loosely around his left arm, and a headband tightly claimed his forehead. Relatively straightforward attire, the man wore a light jumpsuit, apparently not bothering to wear anything more fitting for the chilly air and dizzying heights.

He seemed unbothered, though breathing heavily from some exertion, and with sharp blue eyes stared down his quarry. Gripping his fists, it would seem as if these two were fighting.

This wasn't far from the truth, as the black-and-yellow man called out, "Perhaps you would like to call it for today, Nathan?" "No!" Nathan called back with a roar, "I have to go back home tomorrow, and I want to finish this training at long last!" "Suit yourself," the other man replied, once again charging up Raiton to a single palm.

"Aw come on Rai, how about you use that special technique set?" Nathan insisted with a slight whine, "You have been toying with me for half an hour now!" "Sorry son, but I don't go showing off those techniques in relative public," Rai shouted back as he shot a powerful blast of electricity from his outstretched palm, aiming it towards Nathan.

Rapidly Nathan's eyes flashed to life as he narrowly dodged the beam, skidding down the mountain with chakra-augmented steps. Leaping from the mountain just as the top was completely blasted to bits, Nathan spun in mid-air and landed on another mountain, his chakra attaching him cleanly to the rock face.

Almost as if a thousand birds were screeching for his head, the air filled with the sound of Raiton as Rai suddenly appeared behind Nathan with a kunai in hand.

Before an opportunity to slash could be capitalized on, the kunai instantly raised into the air; taking a slightly startled Rai with it. Manipulating the kunai using his magnetic chakra, Nathan hurled the kunai downwards towards the cloud covered 'floor' of their battlefield.

Chuckling to himself, perhaps in amusement, Rai ceased the bird chatter of his clothing and seemingly allowed himself to descend.

Nathan did not buy this for a second, and instead leapt higher up on the mountain, abandoning the manipulation of the kunai. Reaching into his weapons pouch, the man pulled out an entire roll of iron wire. Using his chakra, he quickly expanded it into a web in a mile radius of his location.

Holding onto the ends, Nathan closed his eyes and focused, filtering his chakra to maintain the sometimes suspended wiring. A single twang and Nathan immediately knew where Rai was.

Of course, this didn't matter, as electricity suddenly flowed through the wires towards Nathan. Using the wires and his own Raiton chakra, he would redirect this quick flow of electricity until it was being redirected back to its source. Surprisingly, the entire wiring began to twang as the electricity seemingly gave out. Nathan, suspecting foul play, released the wires, mere seconds before the ends burst with a powerful wave of electricity.

"Gah!" Nathan cried out as he was shocked. Having trained with Raiton for so long, his body could sustain some hits, but he didn't expect the voltage to come out in this manner. However, Nathan leapt from that peak to yet another one, huffing in irritation as a few minor burns appeared on his body.

"Damn, all these months and I'm still not immune to his lightning release…" Nathan grumbled in clear dissatisfaction, bringing his hands together. Intent on changing the very nature of the battle, he would wait, for just a few moments, as he knew that Rai was unlikely to let up until he completely consented.

Yet, he still felt like he was just toying with him. His sparring partner was the host of a tailed beast, after all, and he expected a much stronger showing. Well, one couldn't ask for much extra as Rai suddenly appeared, mid-air, with four fingers extended.

Rotating, the man suddenly set a rain of electric bullets towards Nathan. Not even bothering to move any further, the very ground beneath him suddenly sprouts trees, and just as the bullets were beginning to make impact, a dense dome of the trees completely closed off the man from his counterpart.

"Tch, hasn't shown that all year," Rai mentioned to himself, ceasing his spinning as he landed atop the dome. Trees sprouted randomly from the dome as if they were attempting to restrict Rai's movements; much rather, Rai leap from the trees, only for the mountain cliff that he was about to land on to suddenly swarm with the nuisances.

"Talk about reforestation," Rai joked loudly as he suddenly surrounded himself in Raiton. Just as it seemed as if he would be engulfed by the trees, the man rapidly began bursting through them. Like a lightning bolt, he flashed through his intended restraints as if they were made of mere rock, and appeared on a stable peak some distance away.

Projecting his hands forward, Rai suddenly releases a powerful beam; this, however, was not Raiton, and instead was more like a laser beam, reminiscent of the storm release bloodline limit. The bolt would hit home, shattering the wooden dome and sending its pieces flying into the cloud line below. A bead of sweat dropped from Rai's forehead, much to his surprise, as Nathan was nowhere to be seen.

This was strange, as Nathan was normally not one to run from a spar without as much as a good-bye. Hearing the ground beginning to crumble beneath him, Rai assumed that Nathan had taken this time to maneuver below, as he was aware that his son sported almost as many elements as he did.

However, even as a hand appeared from below, Rai merely stomped the ground with a Raiton enhanced foot, crushing the entire ground beneath him. His eyes would light up; however, as suddenly Nathan appeared to be in three places at once.

"Wood clones!" Rai guessed as he sent out a near invisible wave of eletricity, which quickly sent the three Nathan's sprawling into the tumbling abyss. Even so, as Rai began to fall towards the remaining part of the mountain, a brief whistle of air suddenly caught his attention. Behind him Nathan, his toad-like eyes narrowing towards the back of Rai, struck down hard with a single fist.

Rai would gasp as he was sent plummeting past the poofing clones and towards the harsh ground below. Although his ears popped from the rapid changes in elevation, Rai closed his eyes and concentrated. Nathan watched from above as he neatly landed on the remaining rock face, a smirk on his own face as frog kata had proved its usefulness. However, rather than making a thud, the resounding sound was instead a splash.

"What the…?" Nathan muttered to himself as he suddenly sensed a change in the chakra below. Dodging what seemed to be invisible distortions in the air, Nathan eventually leapt from the mountain to land on an as of yet untouched mountain. Just in time for the clouds below to suddenly begin moving according to some unseen will.

Performing a set of handsigns for perhaps the second time in the entire fight, Nathan suddenly expels a large amount of water into the sky. As the below cloud surges forward, Nathan brings his hands downward, and his sky suddenly begins down pouring with rain. However, this was no ordinary shower, and it was instead in the likeness of a giant wave of water. There seemed to be only one problem involved here, as Nathan was near in the middle of the convergence zone.

His hands being extended, the man clenches his teeth, as perfect timing is required, hoping that both gravity and volume were on his side of things.

Down below, Rai looks upward as he uses Suiton to surge the water droplets of the clouds upwards; based on what he could tell, Nathan was thinking if countering water with water. An odd move, but it was not something that Rai was going to get too upset about as he extended his hands outwards, surging electricity upwards towards the converging waves.

If Nathan had had some sort of plan to merely swim through the water, then he would be quite mistaken. If he were to attempt it, he would be shocked; if he didn't, then he would probably need to use some sort of space-time technique to dodge it. Or so Rai assumed, until his eyes caught sight of a small volume of water suddenly vanishing; and being replaced by Nathan.

Nathan suddenly surrounded himself, almost as if they had grown right from his body, in trees. The wave of Raiton would pass into the above torrents of water, and the wood would break up, leaving a mostly unharmed Nathan to continue his descent.

Preparing to meet Nathan in the air, Rai suddenly noticed an emerging problem. Shouting upwards, he called out, "Nate, I think you forgot something when you decided to replace some of that water…" Before he could finish with his warning, wires would suddenly appear from the ground and wrap around Rai.

Nathan smirked, as he had now restrained Rai's movements; for now. However, for some reason, the sky had suddenly become extremely dark; even by the standards of an approaching thunderstorm. Rai's call fell on deaf ears, however, as Nathan's sage mode dimmed and faded with the completion of his wire attack, using the seemingly abandoned wires from earlier and his magnetism to take Rai off guard.

More concerned with the descending columns of water, Rai suddenly became surrounded in a tangible cloak of red chakra. A mix of Raiton and sheer force freed him from the wires as he suddenly burst forward. The tint of red seemed to be coming in the form of a fox of sorts, but it was hard to tell as the man travelled as nearly a blur upwards towards Nathan. Nathan, realizing that something was wrong, finally took the time to look up, to see a giant column of water spilling down towards him.

The earlier clash between the two bodies of water had resulted in the most obvious of cases; while Rai's cloud body may have temporarily stalled it, gravity was the true victor of the hour as both combined bodies succumbed to its effects. And now, with their combined weight, they seemed to be coming down faster than Nathan was descending.

Certainly not a preferred case scenario, that was for sure. Calling his wires once again to him, the nearest mountain seemingly called forth one tremendously long wire that embedded itself into a parallel mountain; Nathan, using his chakra, managed to land atop this wire, bending it considerably, just seconds after Rai landed next to him, cloaked in electricity.

In a shocking blur, the two men went from atop the wire to gone, as the water completely collapsed the wire and flooded the ground below.

Some miles up the road, Kumogakure, busy as ever, had been hunkered down for the storm, as lightning flashed in the dark sky overhead. A band of shinobi seemed to be crowded around the gates when suddenly the ground gently shook.

The torrent of water completely overwhelmed the road in the distance, much to the perplexion of onlookers. They could only assume that it had been a battle of sorts, though the downward sloping road would keep the water from even getting near Kumogakure.

Despite this, chatter ensued until an electricity encased duo arrived at the gates. Rai was huffing and puffing, a few more drops of sweat now leaving his brow as he looked back at the close call. From his hand he released his grip on Nathan, who dropped to his feet, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Whew… That was close," Rai joked, "Any longer and we would have been sinking with the boulders."

"Hail, Raikage!" several of the onlookers said as everyone bowed sharply, save for one lone figure, who bowed much more shallowly. "Lord Raifudo," this figure began, "If you are no longer busy, a word perhaps?" This man was largely concealed, with a hooded cloak hiding most of his features from view. However, the Kumo symbol was embroided on most of the cloak, so it could be presumed that it might be a member of the local ANBU.

"Of course, to my office," Raifudo proclaimed, rubbing Nathan's hair back into a tangled mess. "Till next time," he commented as he walked after the ANBU. Nathan sighed; back to the old grind for him too it would seem. And he had a good bit of travelling to do to get home…

* * *

Wandering through a broken down residential area, a single man, clothed in white robes with purple decorations on it, with a single purple diamond on it. The letters within it said "sound". The road was crumbling, the signs of the decayed and highly worn down infrastructure. The man sighed, as he came to one of the few gatekeepers left in this village.

"You are to be in charge of the gates while I am gone," the man declared, "I may not come back, this time, but, I just want you to know that I did always care." The gatekeeper did not reply, most of his form hidden in the shadows. Sighing, the figure cast the robes off onto the broken streets before dashing off in a blur. As the robes fluttered to the ground, the gatekeeper sighed.

Yet another leader had gone by, and the crumbling Sound was losing its luster. Otogakure used to be one of the great nations of the world; now their position had undoubtedly been usurped by the Rain. Recent events had only made things worse, and the constant destruction and reconstruction of the village had taken its toll on the residents.

It was a dying land; and this lone gatekeeper seemed to be one of the few left as a chilling wind blew past. Even the rice fields that surrounded the village seemed dead, and the bright sky contrasted to the bleak landscape. Katana divided parts of the streets; bones littered certain areas as scavenging animals picked off whatever sustenance that they could.

The largest and tallest building in the village creaked and groaned, almost as if it voiced the dying breathes of this once great village. Some moans went out into the day before they were silenced by some unknown whisper. Perhaps a flying piece of metal, or the silent claws of the wild beasts did the deed. Either way, silence persisted throughout most of the time.

Despite this, the gatekeeper dutifully stood guard, defiantly holding down the position until further notice. The walls were crumbling, but this was still the most conventional way of getting in. Stillness finally took root, as the last cry was swiftly silenced by the sounds of a successful hunt. A lone, boney figure shifted down the street, making hardly any noise as they did so.

It was an old man, greyed beyond being able to tell what color his hair originally sported. He went with such a drag that one would think that he was about to keel over at any second. A desperate soul who came to the gates spoke a few words to the gatekeeper. "I do not know why you stubbornly cling to this place, Trev; but I am going to die in the fields. I will not be consumed in my home."

Trev nodded towards the man, and watched as she shifted away. Blinking, as if that brief exchange had touched some emotion long buried with this ruined site, Trev shifted forward just slightly. His form was still largely concealed, but a single whisper emitted from his lips.

He then stepped towards the robes, chilled to the bone by a wind that attempted to deter this action. Shaded now by an overhead cloud, the young man reached down and grabbed the cloak, speaking as he did so. "By my life, I swear that I will not let you die in your own home," Trev spoke to seemingly to no one, "Peace at long last, but oh the price… Father, you have left your own country to rot in such a manner. And so, I take up the mantle that you and your kind have left behind. And I shall renew and rebuild this forsaken village; I so swear it!"

And with that he donned the robes of the Otogakure, staring off towards the old man shifting to the fields. Silence, had truly become the deadliest sound, if men were driven to such notions.


End file.
